In New York, fathers have certain rights and responsibilities – both parents do. And there is a general expectation that both parents are interested in being a part of the child’s life, meaning being present and engaged.
It doesn’t always work out that way though. Sometimes parents want something different for their life than being saddled with the responsibility of a child. We hear a lot about fathers deserting their children, but mothers do it too.
When this happens though, the question then becomes how long does a father (or parent) have to be absent to lose their legal rights to the child?
New York law does provide guidelines and often agencies like Child Welfare and foster care will use these laws to release children from disengaged, uninterested parents so that they can be adopted into loving families. Other times, the custodial parent will seek termination of parental rights of the absent non-custodial parent so that the child can be adopted by a stepparent.
Termination of parental rights can be a complex issue. It is usually best to hire an experienced family law attorney to handle your case.
What Responsibilities Does a Father Have for His Child in New York?
In New York, the father of a child has certain rights if paternity has been established. This means either he was married to the mother when the child was born, or he legally established paternity if he wasn’t married to the mother.
If paternity has been established, the father has the right to:
- Seek custody of the child
- Have visitation with the child
- Be notified of a pending adoption
- Make or participate in making important decisions about the child such as education, medical treatments, camps, and religious activity
The child also benefits and has certain rights:
- To get an inheritance from the father
- Receive Social Security benefits
- Get health benefits on the father’s health insurance plan
In addition to these benefits or rights that the father enjoys, there are also certain responsibilities. Under New York law, both parents are legally responsible for financially supporting the child. As long as the father has parental rights, he is financially responsible for the child.
What Happens When a Father Loses His Parental Rights in New York?
When a father loses his paternal rights to his child, he no longer has any say in anything regarding the child. He has no right to any type of visitation or even a phone call. Once the paternal rights are terminated, the father is no longer a father but merely a sire with no ties to the child at all.
While the father no longer has any of the rights like visitation or making decisions about the child’s future, he also no longer bears any of the responsibility that he had as the legal father. This means he no longer pays child support or provides health insurance for the child.
As far as the law is concerned, the child is no longer his.
How Can a Father Lose His Parental Rights in New York?
Termination of parental rights can be involuntary or voluntary. In other words, the father can willingly give up his rights to his child. When that happens, the child is either placed with the other parent, or a family member or goes into the foster care system.
The father then has no ties to the child.
Parental rights can be terminated without the parent’s consent. A city agency such as NYC Administration for Children’s Services can file a petition requesting that the judge terminate the parent’s rights to their child. A foster care agency can also do this.
When terminating parental rights, the agency cannot make an arbitrary request without appropriate grounds for the action. In New York, there are five legal grounds that are used to terminate parental rights. Usually just one is enough, but if there is more than one it only makes the case stronger.
The five grounds for terminating parenting rights are:
- Abandonment
- Permanent neglect
- Mental illness
- Mental retardation or defect
- Repeated and severe abuse
When an agency steps in to terminate parental rights, the parent or parents have a right to contest the decision. They also may have a right to a court-appointed lawyer, free of charge, if they wish to contest the decision and are not able to afford a lawyer.
Once the petition is filed, a court date will be set for a fact-finding hearing. At this hearing, the one who is requesting the termination of rights must prove the grounds for that termination. They are required to give definitive proof that whatever grounds they are using are valid and current.
Once the fact-finding hearing concludes, the judge will determine if the evidence that was presented was enough to show that the grounds were met. At that point, he or she will move to terminate the parent’s rights or deny the request.
If the court terminates a parent’s rights, the order of termination may be appealed. A parent wishing to contest an order of termination has 30 days from the date the order was signed to file the appeal. In most cases, the parent obtains legal counsel to help them navigate this complex process. A good attorney is essential in ensuring that the parent’s rights are protected.
What Is Considered Abandonment of a Child By The Father in New York?
Under New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law – PEN § 260.00 Abandonment of a child, a parent could be prosecuted for abandoning a child who is younger than 14 years old.
The parent is considered absent and can lose their parental rights if they abandon their child:
- Intentionally and permanently neglect their child for 12 months or more by failing to plan for the child’s future and failing to maintain contact with the child.
- Intentionally legally abandoning the child for 6 or more months.
Abandonment of a child occurs when the person who is legally charged with the custody or care of the child (parent, guardian, etc.) deserts them in any place with the intention of abandoning them completely. The key is that the child is left in danger.
It is not criminal abandonment of a child if the parent intentionally leaves the child in an environment where they will be cared for appropriately and will be safe, or the parent leaves the child with an appropriate person or in a location that is safe and suitable, or the parent notifies the appropriate person to let them know where the child is.
In all though, after six months of intentional, legal abandonment, your parental rights can indeed be terminated.
If you have abandoned your child and are facing losing your parental rights, or you are the parent of a child whose other parent has abandoned them, you need a compassionate, talented, aggressive family law attorney to help you get justice. Call the Litvak Law Firm today at 718-989-2908 and let us handle your termination of rights case. We care and we’re here for you.